Jesus Is Lord Over All: Disease & Death

Introduction

Well, I have a lofty goal for us this morning. I want us to finish Mark chapter 5. While we do have 23 verses remaining in the chapter, I think we should be able to cover it all!

Mark chapter 5 has been fondly referred to as the “Saint Jude” chapter of Scripture. Saint Jude is the patron saint of hopeless, desperate, lost causes. Of course you know that there is an entire research hospital named after this patron saint, dedicated to serving and caring for young children facing impossible odds due to cancer or other life threatening illnesses.

This chapter in Mark includes some of the most hopeless, desperate, and lost causes. People that even Saint Jude Hospital could not treat today. Last week we read of a man with thousands of demons possessing him. No one could subdue him. No one could help him or cure him, that is until Jesus came to shore.

Today we will read of two more impossible and incurable cases. A woman who has been suffering from a disease for 12 years and a 12 year-old little girl who dies.

Let’s read about this, shall we? If you haven’t yet, turn with me to Mark chapter 5 and to verse 21. If you need a Bible, you can turn in the pew Bible to page 995 and follow along as I read.

Mark 5:21–43 ESV

And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

This is a passage that reminds us of the fallen world we live in and of the devastating effects of sin. In this world we experience failing health, terminal diseases, the death of loved ones; some parents outlive their children; and all of us will die one day, unless the Lord return first. With the apostle Paul, we are all acutely aware that our “outer self is wasting away” and “in this tent of flesh, we groan and long for a heavenly dwelling”. We realize things are not right in this world.

Disease and death. That’s a pretty good summary of the curse for sin. We are painfully and daily aware of our need. We need something more permanent than what this life has to offer. We need a hope that isn’t fleeting and life that won’t waste away. We need a remedy to all our maladies. We need a Physician capable of reversing the curse of sin. That is who Jairus and this woman needed.

Enter Jesus Christ. In this narrative, Jesus is presented as the only hope to improve the quality of this woman’s life and give life to Jairus’ daughter. Jesus was the remedy for their problems of disease and death. All they were required to do was believe.

That is what we must do as well. We must...

Theme: Believe Jesus Christ is the Sovereign Lord, who alone is our great hope in the face of disease and death.

As we walk through these verses, I want to make three simple observations from the two stories. These observations probably aren’t anything you didn’t know already. Regardless, they are truths that we all need to lay hold of and cling to for dear life.

1. Anyone may come to Jesus with faith

This truth is not difficult to derive from our text. But, it does require us to look closely at the details of these two people who approached Jesus in faith. We find that Jairus and this diseased woman could not have been more different from one another.

Jairus

Diseased Woman

Notable

Nameless

A somebody

A nobody

A man of fame

A woman of shame

Respected

Rejected

An insider

An outcast

Ruler of the synagogue

Shut out of the synagogue

Wealthy

Bankrupt

Has a family

Destitute

Came boldly to Jesus in Public

Came bashfully to Jesus in secret

Has a 12 year old daughter

Has a 12 year hemorrhage

Experienced 12 years of delight

Experienced 12 years of despair

Despite how categorically different these two people were, both approached Jesus with faith. And note that Jesus received them both. Jesus did not favor Jairus over the diseased woman to receive extra brownie points from the Jews and Jewish religious leaders. And Jesus did not favor the diseased woman more than Jairus simply because it would gain the approval of the social justice warriors.

Jesus, as the Great Physician does not perform triage. Now, I’m no medical expert. You who are nurses or work in a hospital or clinic know what triage is better than I do. But, triage, in layman’s terms, is where medical professionals assign degrees of urgency to incoming patients. The more severe the wound or illness, the more likely you are to be bumped up the list and be seen by a doctor first.

Jesus doesn’t do that. This is the beauty of Jesus as our Great Physician. He does not show favoritism. He is perfectly impartial when it comes to welcoming us and addressing our needs. Jesus does not deem any of us more fit or profitable to receive and treat. He receives us all equally.

Jairus and this diseased woman both illustrate it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, how society views you, or how successful you are. You may be the most notable person in the community or the most anonymous. You may be the most wealthy person in the room or the poorest. You may be well educated or you may be a drop out. Whatever the case may be with you, only one thing is required for you to come to Jesus with your need. Faith.

We need not wonder how to draw near to the Lord. He has told us all that is required is faith. A faith that believes He is there for you and cares for you.

Consider Jesus’ response to Jairus’ earnest plea. “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” What does Jesus do next? Verse 24, “And Jesus went with him”. Jesus not only received Jairus when he came and fell at His feet, but He inclined His ear to his supplication and then He went off with Jairus to his home.

Consider the diseased woman as well. Once Jesus perceived that power had gone out of Him, He immediately calls her out. This was not in order to rebuke her, but to receive her. He wanted her to know that she was not just a number in the crowd, but a person. He wanted her to know that her touch would not cause Him to shrink back in fear, like everyone else. Rather, Jesus encourages her to draw near again to Him so that He may bless her! “Go in peace,” Jesus told her.

Congregation, Jesus desires you to draw near to Him. He welcomes you and actually invites you to come to Him in faith. Contrary to every instinct within you, He will not evade you or shrink back in disgust as if you were too unclean for Him. His holiness is not threatened by your unholiness. Indeed, your uncleanness invites His cleanness to come and purify you. If the Incarnation teaches us anything, it is that Jesus delights in moving toward us in our desperation and hopelessness, not away from us.

And so, no matter who you are, what you’ve done, or the situation you are in, you may approach Jesus. Even the smallest of faith can lay hold of Him. But it must be by a humble and honest faith that you come to Jesus. Jairus humbled himself before the Lord; falling at His feet in reverence and respect. And the diseased woman was honest with the Lord when she was called out. They didn’t puff themselves up or try to cover up their problems. They recognized Jesus for who He was and they were real with Him about their needs.

Jesus is the most available Physician you will ever find. Anyone of you may go to Him with faith and He will receive you.

2. All our needs are met in Jesus by grace.

Second observation we can make from the stories of Jairus and this woman: all our needs are met in Jesus by grace. So far we’ve noticed that the only thing in common Jairus and the diseased women had with each other was their faith. Well, here’s one more commonality. All of their needs were met at the feet of Jesus.

Think about Jairus. How long had his 12 year-old daughter been suffering? We’re not told. It could have been weeks, months, years. Or maybe whatever she suffered from was fast acting and within a few days she was at death’s doorstep. What we are told though, in Luke’s account, was that this was his only daughter.

Fathers with daughters, you can imagine the lengths this man went to in order to cure his little girl. He probably went to all sorts of physicians and medical professionals, but they all deemed her incurable. All they could do was ease her pain. And so out of desperation, Jairus, the ruler of a synagogue, took the most unlikely course of action for a leader in the Jewish community at that time. He went to Jesus. And not only did he go to Jesus, but he fell down at Jesus’ feet!

Just picture it. A man of distinction, standing, and respect falling at Jesus’ feet, an act connected to worship throughout the New Testament. Again, we don’t know much about Jairus and what synagogue he was the ruler of, but it is likely that Jesus is back near the city of Capernaum, His home base for ministry in Galilee. If that is the case, then perhaps Jairus was the ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum. Meaning, Jairus had already been a witness to a least two of Jesus’ miracles that took place in the synagogue. In Mark chapter 1, Jesus cast out a demon with such authority that He shocked the crowd. And in Mark chapter 3, Jesus caused quite the stir in the synagogue when He restored a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath, which resulted in the Pharisees plotting to kill Jesus.

As a ruler of a synagogue, Jairus would have wanted to stay off of the Pharisees’ “naughty list”. That would mean he wouldn’t dare do something like humble himself before Jesus! And yet, as we well know, Jairus was a desperate man. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

If he was the ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum, then he knew firsthand the power and authority of Jesus over the physical and supernatural realms. Thus he viewed it necessary to go to Jesus and humbly request His help and healing for his girl. And we know the end of the story already. His need was met by the Lord.

Think now about the diseased woman. Unlike Jairus’ daughter, we are told how long this woman had suffered. 12 long years. She had suffered as long as Jairus’ daughter had been alive! And she was probably just as desperate to find a remedy to her hemorrhaging as Jairus was to find a remedy for his little girl. We read that this woman has expended all her options. She’s tried all the home remedies. She probably tried to have some religious leader bless her to heal her. She’s even consulted many physicians. But instead of having her condition improve, it only got worse.

Add to that the fact that she has spent every penny she had to be cured and cleansed. All of that money was wasted. She remained unclean, defiled, and an untouchable outcast to society. This woman was left bleeding, broken, and bankrupt. No one could meet her need.

But then she heard some reports about this Jesus fellow. Maybe the news about Jesus’ miraculous power had come to her from a former unclean, diseased man. Remember the leper in Mark 1? Jesus had told the man to keep his cleansing on the down-low, but instead he began to talk freely about it, and spread the news everywhere. Perhaps he shared his testimony with this diseased woman. Or, as the great crowd was leaving the city of Capernaum to flock to Jesus that day, she heard those who passed by talk about what Jesus had done for so many with diseases and demons already.

Just as an aside, I think this only further emphasizes what we considered last week about personal evangelism. We learned from the former demoniac that we must exhibit a transformed life, express our testimony, and explain what the Lord has mercifully done for us. This woman heard about Jesus all because others were either living testimonies of His power or because they shared with her what He could do for people like her.

Even though she snuck up behind Jesus to touch the hem of His garment, she still found healing for her incurable disease. “Immediately,” Mark notes, “she felt in her body that she was healed.” One moment she was unclean and defiled, and the next she was clean and disease-free.

And once she came clean to Jesus about what she had done, Jesus assured her that she was healed for good. “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” “Your faith has made you well”. In other words, Jesus wanted to clarify for her how she had been healed. It was not her superstitious touch of His garment. Nor was it really the operation of her faith. Rather it was the object of her faith that had made her well. It was Jesus Himself that had met her need. It was His power that cleansed her and healed her.

Friends, what is your need today? We’ve already established that Jesus will receive you if you come to Him with faith. And now we’ve seen that Jesus can do the impossible by His grace. The size of your need is of no concern. He can calm the sea. He can cast out thousands of demons. He can heal diseases. And as we shall see more in a minute, He can raise the dead.

Could it be that your need is salvation this morning? Maybe you did not enter this place thinking that to be the case. But, you are able to identify with Jairus and with this diseased woman. You are desperately in search for hope and joy in this life. You’ve looked everywhere and have found it momentarily in some spots: a relationship, a job, a child, a hobby, or a secret pleasure. But then, the hope and joy you thought these things or people gave you ebbs and flows; or even vanishes all together.

Perhaps you have a keen sense, as this woman did, of how defiled you are. You’ve tried everything to rid yourself of that stain and spot of sin, but the more you try to clean yourself or have someone else fix you, the spot only grows worse and spreads. You are also aware of the draining effects your sin has on you. It has put a strain on your relationship with your spouse or children. It has spoiled a job opportunity. It promised you the best in life, but it pays with the worst. It promised you pleasure, but all you know is pain.

This morning, you don’t need me to highlight all your problems. You are well aware of them yourself. The Holy Spirit is convicting you right now. Jesus is calling you out, just as He did this woman. But, you need to know that He is calling you out to come to Him and come clean to Him. This woman confessed at the feet of Jesus and she received blessed assurance. Jesus met her need.

She may have been a “nobody” to society, but the Savior called her “Daughter”. You who have been looking for belonging and blessing, look no further than Jesus. According to the definite plan of God the Father, Jesus left His throne in heaven to make you clean from sin by giving you His cleanness. He came and lived a perfect life to make you complete, lacking nothing before the sight of God in terms of righteousness. And Jesus died in your place to make you a redeemed child of God, adopted into His family.

Go to the foot of His cross and trust in Him for hope and life. The author of Hebrews tells us that:

Hebrews 7:25 ESV

25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

“Able to save to the uttermost”. That has to be one of the sweetest phrases in all of Scripture! That word, “uttermost”, conveys finality, infinity, and eternity. In other words, Jesus is able to save you totally for all time. This is the salvation sinners need. Jesus is the only Savior who can supply it! Come to Him for grace and you shall hear Him say to you, “My Son” or “My Daughter”. “My Brother” “My Sister”. “Go in peace, and be healed of your disease of sin.”

Anyone can come to Jesus: that’s our Savior’s sympathy. All our needs are met in Jesus: that’s our Savior’s sufficiency. Sympathetic compassion and Sufficient grace. But that’s not all.

3. Tragedy turns to triumph with Jesus.

The third observation we can make from the text is that tragedy turns to triumph with Jesus.

Go back to Jairus now for a moment. No question he was overjoyed when Jesus agreed to go with him to heal his dying daughter. We can envision Jairus briskly taking off and going on ahead of Jesus to lead Him to his house. But then, he realized that Jesus was no longer following him and his heart sinks. “Why did Jesus stop?”, he groans.

To us as readers, Jesus’ encounter with the woman appears to be mere happenstance. But, I do not think that it was a coincidence that Jesus’ journey to Jairus’ home was interrupted. I think this is another reason why Jesus called this woman out so publicly as He did. It surely would have readied Jairus’ faith for the devastating news he was about to receive. Mark is careful to note that Jesus referred to this woman as “Daughter”. Surely, that would have caught Jairus’ attention. Here was a woman who had suffered as long as his daughter had lived and Jesus could heal her.

And it is as Jesus is giving this woman His blessing that the worst of news came to Jairus.

Mark 5:35 ESV

35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

The delay with this diseased woman had given her newness of life, but it had proven to be deadly for Jairus’ little girl. Jairus’ little sliver of hope was now dashed to pieces.

I love Jesus’ reaction though. How does Jesus take the news?

Mark 5:36 ESV

36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”

“But overhearing what they said…” This word, “overhearing”, has three distinct meanings in the New Testament. 1) It can mean to hear something not intended for you; 2) to ignore what has been said; and 3) to refuse to accept the truth of something. All three uses of this word, I believe, apply to Jesus in this moment.

Essentially these reporters had said Jesus was not able to do anything for Jairus’ dead daughter because to them He was only a “Teacher”. “She is beyond anyone’s help now.”

Their words do not faze Jesus. Instead of correcting them, He turns immediately to Jairus and gives him pertinent instructions. “Do not fear; only believe”. It’s even more forceful in the Greek. Literally, “No fear, only keep believing”. In other words, Jesus meant, “Jairus, you came to Me with faith to heal your daughter and remember that I said I would. Look at what I’ve just done for this woman who had a disease for 12 years! Continue to put your faith in Me. I will surely do what I have promised.”

Jairus would need this faith in spite of all the “nay-sayers” in his home. Professional mourners had already been brought in and were weeping and wailing loudly. Then Jesus walks in.

Mark 5:39–40 ESV

39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.

Oh to have Jesus’ perspective in times of tragedy! To those in the house, this girl was dead. And she most certainly was. Professional mourns only come once someone has died. But to the Lord, this little girl was only sleeping. His assertion drew scoffs and jeers.

For Jesus, raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead was as easy as waking someone from their sleep. He tenderly touched her cold hand and spoke to her gently, yet with great authority.

Mark 5:41–42 ESV

41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.

This is the power of Jesus’ word. By His word He created the universe. He spoke and there was life. By His word He upholds the universe. “In Him we live and move and have our being”. And every time He raises the dead to life, Jesus uses the power of His Word. In Luke 7, Jesus raised a widow’s dead son saying, “‘Young man, I say to you, arise.’ And the dead man sat up and began to speak” (Lk. 7:14-15). In John 11, Jesus raised Mary and Martha’s dead brother saying, “‘Lazarus, come out.’ The man who had died came out.” (Jn. 11:43-44). And Jesus has said that:

John 5:28–29 ESV

28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Even now, Jesus imparts life to the dead, for He declares:

John 5:25 ESV

25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

Brothers and Sister, we have experienced Christ’s powerful, resurrecting, live-giving word spiritually already. But, one day, we shall experience it physically and bodily. This is the hope we can have for all our believing loved ones who have “fallen asleep” before us. Their deaths to us is not a “good-bye”, but a “see ya later”. That’s what that our Scripture Reading in 1 Thessalonians is all about. We can encourage one another with these words because tragedy turns to triumph with Jesus.

All of this is contingent upon Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. “If Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile and we are still dead in our sins. And those who have died in Christ have perished. We are people most to be pitied. But Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died in Him. For just as by a man came death, by a man has also come the resurrection of the dead. In Adam all die; in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:17-22).

In Christ, death does not have the last word. The final word belongs to Jesus. In Jesus Christ, we may experience His compassionate sympathy, His gracious sufficiency, and His glorious sovereignty. He is a Savior who can be trusted.

We may not always receive what we ask Him for in this life. Diseases may remain. Death is still a reality. Our requests may even be delayed in coming to fruition. But we look to the cross and the empty tomb and we can trust that Jesus is good and is faithful to keep His promises. The problems of this life may rage, but Jesus is the King who rules.

Is Jesus Christ your hope in life and death? Hope in Him. He is our salvation and our God. He is Lord over disaster and difficulty. He is Lord over devil and demons. He is Lord over disease and death. “Fear not, only believe”.